How an organizer can help you keep your craft room clean
Keeping your creative space tidy can be a challenge. Artists want to focus on being creative, not cleaning, right? However a messy craft room can sometimes limit your creativity. It becomes harder to keep an eye on your craft materials, and important tools for an upcoming project may disappear in the mess.
Having a clean and organized craft room can even help you to get more creative! Being tidier will give you a better overview of your materials and bring you peace.
But how can you find time to tidy your entire crafting room? A lot of crafters are now getting help from professionals!
Crafter Angelese hired an organizer, and ever since, her crafting experience has been totally transformed. In this blog post she shares her experience of an organizer to clean up her crafting room, and crafter and blogger Jennifer will share her top tips on how to keep your craft room tidy!
Hiring an organizer changed Angelese’s way of crafting
Your husband hired a craft room organizer as an anniversary gift (really sweet!), was this something that you had wanted to do for a long time?
Angelese: It has always been the “goal” to have an organized craft room but with three active boys, two part time jobs, a seat on the PTA board and a traveling husband; it just wasn’t a priority.
With such a busy schedule, it is extremely difficult for me to keep the craft room in order. Most days, I am easily working 4-8 different projects/events. I am trying to retrain my brain to put everything away before I go to bed, even if I know I will be using it the next day
What did your craft room look like before you hired the organizer?
Angelese: For over eight years I had shoved every thing we didn’t need at the time into the craft room. That included outgrown clothes, gifts for upcoming events, birthday decorations, old pictures and well, of course, crafts.
Angelese: I had thought about hiring an organizer years ago, but felt like I needed to do so much to get the room ready for someone to organize that I just kept putting it off.
What happened when the organizer came to your house?
Angelese: I did nothing! She came 3 different times and worked for 3-4 hours each time. She simply started in one corner and worked her way out. She made piles of stuff that she thought I could resale or donate and I went through those after she was gone.
How did your craft room look after the organizer had been there?
Angelese: I can’t even believe it is the same room. I try to work in one area a week and “organize” it in the way that makes sense to me. I am very fortunate to have a large space so a lot of items are there just because I have the room for it. I will start donating those items to be used at our school.
Would you get an organizer again?
Angelese: Absolutely! I want her to help with our garage and attic as soon as possible.
Angelese: I think at the end of the day, being organized will save you money.
What is your best advice for staying organized when crafting?
Angelese: Everyone is different, but find what works best for you. There is no blanket “right way” for everyone! But for me, I really have to change my mind-set and realize that if I clean up as I go, I not only save money (because I am not rebuying things I can’t find), I am also saving time. Time which I can spend with my boys.
Finally, would you recommend hiring an organizer to other crafters?
Angelese: If it fits your budget, absolutely! For me, it was a push in the right direction. We are even participating in the community yard sale for the very first time next month.
Tips on how to keep you craft room organized
Jennifer, blogger and craft designer inspires crafters to organize their rooms with her top tips on how to keep creative spaces tidy!
How do you know when it’s time to organize your craft room?
Jennifer: There are two big telltale signs you need to organize: either you have no space to work at your craft, or it takes you more than 60 seconds to find a tool or supply. So, if you find yourself working in another room because there just isn’t a good spot to work, it’s time to organize! If you spend more time hunting for things than making things, it’s time to organize! Your craft room should be a place of refuge, not a pile of refuse!
What goes into cleaning and organizing a craft room?
Jennifer: I have a little system I use when cleaning my craft room and other spaces — I call it The PACT, and I like to think of it as a pact I make with myself to tidy and organize. PACT is an acronym that stands for Purge, Assess, Contain, and Tag! First, I purge all of the trash and any other things I no longer want or need (or haven’t used in a while). Then, I assess what’s left and put like things with like things, and get an idea of how much I have of various items. Next, I contain everything that remains by putting them into appropriately sized boxes, drawers, or other organized methods of compartmentation. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I tag everything with labels so I can actually find it again.
What is the most common mistake people make that creates a messy crafting room?
Jennifer: I think the biggest mistake most of us make that creates a messy craft room is allowing things to hang out in our room without a home. I’m a firm believer in the idea of a place for everything and everything in its place. When we have a project we’ve finished with, but just let it and its supplies sit in a stack on a surface, that leads to mess. When we buy supplies and tools and do not make room for them and instead just let them pile up, it creates disorganization. And sometimes we let things from other rooms hang out in our craft room “temporarily” because we have no other good place for it, essentially allowing our craft rooms to become the house’s dumping grounds. It’s really important that anything we keep in our craft space belongs there and has a designed place. If you’ve run out of space to store new things, assess what you have and decide if something else can be consolidated, or entirely removed to make room … or you’ll be overrun with stuff!
Can you give 3 concrete tips for keeping your crafting room tidy?
Jennifer: My first tip for keeping a craft room tidy is to get it organized in the first place. When you have places to put things away, it’s MUCH easier to tidy up at the end of project.
Another tip for a tidy craft space is to spend just 5 minutes a day putting things away. This can be at any time during the day, and at any stage of a project. Just make it a regular habit to tidy up a little bit each day.
My best tip for keeping a clean and organized craft room will seem crazy, but it works like a charm: invite people over on a regular basis! When you’ve got people coming over to craft with you (or even just see your space), you’ll find yourself motivated and inspired to keep things tidy all the time! Why not invite your friends over on a weekly basis for a crafternoon? It’ll be fun, too!
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